The B Team: Proof Of Concept Episode 0.1

Posted by on May 28, 2010 - 13 Comments »

Shortly after Blizzard officially announced Cataclysm and the incoming devastation to Azeroth, I came up with an idea.  It’s fairly simple, and based entirely on Deathwing‘s upcoming destruction.  At the time, we had no idea how far reaching the changes would be.  Would Deadmines cease to exist?  What would become of Blackfathom Deeps and Ragefire Chasm?  Would we see these dungeons in a new light, play through them as is?  Or would Blizzard simply remove content that was believed to be archaic?

No one had any idea, so I figured it deserved a last hurrah, just in case.  Obviously, a new toon was in order and I needed teammates.  Then I thought, “If I want to absorb the original design, won’t other people want to see it too?”  Things needed to be documented, categorized and recorded into the annals of history.  Quickly, I went from passive observer to an historian on the level of Brann Bronzebeard.  No dusty tome, or articulate transcription of the “Old BFD” would do.  Video was needed.

Hit the jump to read more about the initial development of <The B Team>.

I pitched the project to a crew of talented players that I figured would be interested. They were, and <The B Team> was born.  The name was chosen for four different reasons.  First off, the project was pitched to Project Lore to subsidize the long gap of content between episodes starring Alex Albrecht.  Knowing that I didn’t have the star power that he does (my Super Mario Galaxy 2 count says otherwise), the tongue-in-cheek name was created.   Our group would be the second string.  Furthermore, the players are spread across the United States, meaning our footage would be all in-game.  Not the TV production of the main product.  Coincidentally, the team ended up being filled by all the bloggers, a natural fit.  We’d also be tackling content that many current players have experienced, rendering the series to a back page interest for many.

Still, I felt that documenting the changes was important.  To me, and other game design-minded people, the past of WoW is as important as the future.  Plus, everyone wants to have proof to their argument that Molten Core dropped tons of Tier 2 loot and that Blackrock Depths takes entirely too long.

Without further adieu, may I present to you the above video, the first part of the proof of concept for The B Team.  It records <The B Team> running through the opening of Wailing Caverns.  Again, it’s proof of concept, so bare with the letterboxing, erratic cuts and things of that nature.  The video was created to see if our goal was possible.  We had many other ideas in mind to better organize, edit and develop the series.  Assuming there is interest, we hope to fulfill those desires.

What do you think?